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This course outline is for the current semester. To view outlines from other years and/or semesters, visit the archives

1. Course Details

Summary of Course

This course provides an introduction to markets and market failure in the context of the environment. Students learn the reasons behind why environmental problems exist, and economic solutions to these problems, which include regulations, taxes, subsidies, and pollution permit trading schemes. Methods for determining the benefits and costs of environmental preservation are covered. While controversial at times, such accounting is fundamental to social decision making. One goal of the course is to make students aware that the answer to environmental issues is not as simple as "save the planet", and that there are other perspectives, complexities and trade-offs that have to be taken into account.

Teaching Times and Locations

Please note that teaching times and locations are subject to change. Students are strongly advised to refer to the Class Timetable website for the most up-to-date teaching times and locations.

Course Aims and Relationship to Other Courses

This course is offered as part of the second year core in the B. Env Science degree and as an elective for B.Com and B.Econ.

Student Learning Outcomes

The Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) are what you should be able to demonstrate by the end of this course, if you participate fully in learning activities and successfully complete the assessment items.

CLOs also contribute to your achievement of the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), which are developed across the duration of a program for all coursework students in the Business School. More information on PLOs is available under
Policies and Support. PLOs are, in turn, directly linked to
UNSW graduate capabilities and the aspiration to develop “globally focussed graduates who are rigorous scholars, capable of leadership and professional practice in an international community”.

The following table shows how the CLOs for this course relate to the overall PLOs and indicates where each CLO and PLO is assessed:

Course Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Course Assessment Item

On successful completion of the course, you should be able to:

This course helps you to develop the following Program Learning Outcomes:

This learning outcome will be assessed in the following items:

1. Understand the theoretical basis upon which the sub-discipline has been built

PLO 1: Business knowledge

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

Mid-term and Final Exams

2. Recognise situations in which markets are likely to be inefficient and be able to prescribe a variety of intervention tools to correct the inefficiency

PLO 2: Problem solving

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

Mid-term and Final Exams

3. Apply methods economists use to measure environmental benefits

PLO 2: Problem solving

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

Mid-term and Final Exams

4. Construct written work that is logically and professionally presented

PLO 3: Business communication

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

Mid-term and Final Exams

5. Communicate ideas in a succinct and clear manner

PLO 3: Business communication

Group Assignment presentations

6. Work collaboratively to complete a task

PLO 4: Teamwork

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

7. Evaluate the rationale of current environmental initiatives including climate change and water reform

PLO 5: Responsible business practice

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

Mid-term and Final Exams

8. Understand distinction between social and private optima

PLO 6: Global and cultural competence

Tutorial Discussion Questions

Group Assignment

Mid-term and Final Exams

2. Staff Contact Details

Position

Title

Name

Email

Location

Phone

Consultation Times

Lecturer-in-charge and tutor

Ms

Shreya Dhall

See Moodle

–

Wednesday: 4 to 6 PM and by appointment

Communications with staff

You should feel free to contact your lecturer(s) about any academic matter. However, it is strongly encouraged, for efficiency, that all enquiries about the subject material be made at lectures or tutorials or during consultation time. Discussion of course subject material will not be entered into via lengthy emails.

Email correspondence on administrative matters (e.g. advising inability to attend tutorial) will be responded to within 48 hours, but not over weekends. Please note that the lecturer has no advance notice of the date and time of the exam.

3. Learning and Teaching Activities

Approach to Learning and Teaching in the Course

The philosophy underpinning this course and its Teaching and Learning Strategies are based on “Guidelines on Learning that Inform Teaching at UNSW". Specifically, the lectures, tutorials and assessment have been designed to appropriately challenge students and support the achievement of the desired learning outcomes. A climate of inquiry and dialogue is encouraged between students and teachers and among students (in and out of class). The lecturers and tutors aim to provide meaningful and timely feedback to students to improve learning outcome.

Learning Activities and Teaching Strategies

The examinable content of the course is defined by the references given in the Lecture Schedule, the content of Lectures, and the content of the Tutorial Program.

Lectures

The purpose of Lectures is to provide a logical structure for the topics that make up the course; to emphasize the important concepts and methods of each topic, and to provide relevant examples to which the concepts and methods are applied.

Tutorials

Tutorials are an integral part of the subject. Tutorial presentations, discussions, and questions will build on the material discussed in class with the lecturer.

Out-of-Class Study

While students may have preferred individual learning strategies, it is important to note that most learning will be achieved outside of class time. Lectures can only provide a structure to assist your study, and tutorial time is limited.

An “ideal” strategy (on which the provision of the course materials is based) might include:

Reading of the relevant chapter(s) of the text and any readings before the lecture. This will give you a general idea of the topic area.

Attendance at lectures. Here the context of the topic in the course and the important elements of the topic are identified. The relevance of the topic should be explained.

Attending tutorials and attempting the tutorial questions.

4. Assessment

Formal Requirements

In order to pass this course, you must:

achieve a composite mark of at least 50 out of 100;

meet any additional requirements described in the Assessment Summary section.

You are expected to attempt all assessment requirements in the course.

Assessment Structure

Assessment Task

Weighting

Length

Due Date

Tutorial Discussion Questions

10%

Various

Randomly selected

Group Assignment part 1: Interim Report

Group Assignment part 2: Presentation

Group Assignment part 3: Final Report

20%

~ 2 pages

~ 10 min

~ 4 pages

Week 5, Friday 22nd March at 12.00 noon

Weeks 7 & 8, in tutorials

Week 10, in tutorial

Midterm Exam

25%

100 min

Week 6, in class (Monday, 25th March)

Final Exam

45%

2 hours

University Exam Period

Total

100%

–

–

Assessment Summary

As a student at UNSW you are expected to display academic integrity in your work and interactions. Where a student breaches the UNSW Student Code with respect to academic integrity, the University may take disciplinary action under the Student Misconduct Procedure.

To assist you in understanding what academic integrity means, and how to ensure that you do comply with the UNSW Student Code, it is strongly recommended that you complete the Working with Academic Integrity module before submitting your first assessment task. It is a free, online self-paced Moodle module that should take about one hour to complete.

Tutorial Discussion Questions (10%)

Each week, you will be given an assignment, the solutions to which will be reviewed during your tutorial. Of these assignments, 2 – 4 will be randomly chosen, collected at the beginning of your tutorial prior to review, and graded. Your combined grade on these assignments will constitute 10% of your overall assessment in the course.

Assignments must be submitted within the first 5 minutes of your tutorial or they will not be collected and graded. Students who do not submit the assessment within this time frame and who do not have adequate reason will be awarded a mark of zero. Documentary evidence for an absence (e.g. medical certificate) must be provided to the Lecturer-in-charge. If approved, the student will have their final mark re-weighted according to the weight of the missed piece of assessment.

Mid-term Exam (25%)

The purpose of the mid-term exam is to test your understanding of the basic concepts and theories introduced in the first half of the course.

The exam details will be confirmed within the lectures preceding the exam.

There will be NO supplementary tests offered for the mid-term exam. You should make every effort to take the mid-term exam. Students who fail to attend the examination will need to apply for Special Consideration.

Applications for special consideration for the mid-term exam must be lodged online through myUNSW within 3 working days of the exam. (Log into myUNSW and go to My Student Profile tab > My Student Services channel > Online Services > Special Consideration). Then submit the originals or certified copies of your completed Professional Authority form (pdf - download here) and any supporting documentation to Student Central.

Employment obligations or holiday plans of any kind are not acceptable reasons for absence from any test/examination.

Group Assignment (total 20%)

You will work collaboratively in small groups on an assignment in which you will examine an environmental problem. The project topic will be chosen by each group and will be discussed in the first tutorial.

Each group will submit an electronic copy of their interim report via the relevant Moodle link. One member of each group is required to upload an electronic copy of your group’s final report prior to the start of your tutorial. Groups will present their final projects during their tutorial towards the end of Term (dates to be confirmed).

Guidelines for the format and structure of the interim and final reports will be provided in the first couple weeks of class.

The breakdown of assessment for the Group Assignment is as follows:

Interim report: 5%Presentation: 5%Final report: 10%

All electronic copies of essays will be checked for plagiarism on the Turnitin software onto which they are uploaded. See notes on Plagiarism below and also note that the Turnitin software will automatically check against all other assignments submitted. Full instructions will be available on the website. Browse and upload a copy of your document - do not paste text. Use your student ID in the file name.

A peer group assessment will also be undertaken in order to make individual contributions transparent. This will allow you to learn and reflect on how to work effectively as a group. Your group work skills and effectiveness of your team are going to influence the quality of your report and will therefore affect your assessment. This will take place at a random point in time during the Term.

Final Exam (45%)

The purpose of the Final Exam is to assess understanding of all environmental economic concepts, theories and policy prescriptions introduced in the course and to test the ability to use these to interpret and analyse real world applications.

The Final Exam will be held in the University examination period and will be 2 hours in length. The Final Exam will cover the entire course including the material that was previously covered by the Mid-Term Exam.

Further information on the content of the Final Exam will be provided towards the end of Term.

A satisfactory performance in the Final Exam is required to pass this subject.

Assignment Submission Procedure

​25% of the value of each written assignment (interim and final reports) will be deducted for each day (24 hours) or part thereof for which the electronic copy of the assignment is submitted to the course website after the deadline. Assignments submitted more than four days late will not be marked. Note that if your group is not able to present the final report on the due date, a mark of zero will be recorded for this portion of the assignment (i.e. there will be no make-up presentations).

Assessment Feedback

​Feedback on student performance from formative and summative assessment tasks will be provided to students in a timely manner. Assessment tasks completed within the teaching period of a course, other than a final assessment, will be assessed and students provided with feedback, with or without a provisional result, within 10 working days of submission, under normal circumstances. Feedback on continuous assessment tasks (e.g. laboratory and studio-based, workplace-based, weekly quizzes) will be provided prior to the midpoint of the course.

Special Consideration

You can apply for special consideration when illness or other circumstances beyond your control, interfere with your assessment performance (to apply see Special Consideration on the UNSW Current Students page). Special Consideration is primarily intended to provide you with an extra opportunity to demonstrate the level of performance of which you are capable.

Special Consideration applications will be assessed centrally by the Case Review Team within Student Lifecycle. The Case Review team will update the online application with the outcome and add any relevant comments.

Please note the following:

Applications can only be made through Online Services in myUNSW. Applications will not be accepted by teaching staff. The lecturer-in-charge/course coordinator will be automatically notified when you lodge an online application for special consideration.

Applying for special consideration does not automatically mean that you will be granted a supplementary exam or other concession.

If you experience illness or misadventure in the lead up to an exam or assessment, you must submit an application for special consideration, either prior to the examination taking place, or prior to the assessment submission deadline, except where illness or misadventure prevent you from doing so.

If you sit the exam/submit an assignment, you are declaring yourself well enough to do so and are unable to subsequently apply for special consideration.

If you become unwell on the day of the exam, you must provide evidence dated within 24 hours of the exam, with your application.

The current provisions will continue for exceptional circumstances, for example, if a student falls sick during an exam. Other exceptions will continue to be examined on a case by case basis by the Student Lifecycle team.

Special consideration requests do not allow the awarding of additional marks to students.

Further information on Business School policy and procedure, as well as supplementary exam dates for the current term, can be found under “Special Consideration” on the Policies and Support page.

Protocol for Viewing Final Exam Scripts

The UNSW Business School has set a protocol under which students may view their final exam script.
Individual schools within the Faculty may also set up a local process for viewing final exam scripts, so it is important that you check with your School. Further school specific information may be included below.

Quality Assurance

The Business School is actively monitoring student learning and quality of the student experience in all its programs. A random selection of completed assessment tasks may be used for quality assurance, such as to determine the extent to which program learning goals are being achieved. The information is required for accreditation purposes, and aggregated findings will be used to inform changes aimed at improving the quality of Business School programs. All material used for such processes will be treated as confidential.

Additional Readings:

Additional reading materials will be made available on Moodle before the relevant lecture. Please note that some additional materials may be added throughout the course as the need arises.

6. Course Evaluation & Development

Feedback is regularly sought from students and continual improvements are made based on this feedback. At the end of this course, you will be asked to complete the myExperience survey, which provides a key source of student evaluative feedback. Your input into this quality enhancement process is extremely valuable in assisting us to meet the needs of our students and provide an effective and enriching learning experience. The results of all surveys are carefully considered and do lead to action towards enhancing educational quality.

​The School of Economics strives to be responsive to student feedback. If you would like more information on how the design of this course and changes made to it over time have taken students’ needs and preferences into account, please contact the Director of Education at the School of Economics.

8. Policies and Support

The Business School places knowledge and capabilities at the core of its curriculum via seven Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). These PLOs are systematically embedded and developed across the duration of all coursework programs in the Business School.

PLOs embody the knowledge, skills and capabilities that are taught, practised and assessed within each Business School program. They articulate what you should know and be able to do upon successful completion of your degree.

Upon graduation, you should have a high level of specialised business knowledge and capacity for responsible business thinking, underpinned by ethical professional practice. You should be able to harness, manage and communicate business information effectively and work collaboratively with others. You should be an experienced problem-solver and critical thinker, with a global perspective, cultural competence and the potential for innovative leadership.

All UNSW programs and courses are designed to assess the attainment of program and/or course level learning outcomes, as required by the
UNSW Assessment Design Procedure. It is important that you become familiar with the Business School PLOs, as they constitute the framework which informs and shapes the components and assessments of the courses within your program of study.

PLO 1: Business knowledge

Students will make informed and effective selection and application of knowledge in a discipline or profession, in the contexts of local and global business.

PLO 2: Problem solving

Students will define and address business problems, and propose effective evidence-based solutions, through the application of rigorous analysis and critical thinking.

PLO 3: Business communication

Students will harness, manage and communicate business information effectively using multiple forms of communication across different channels.

PLO 4: Teamwork

Students will interact and collaborate effectively with others to achieve a common business purpose or fulfil a common business project, and reflect critically on the process and the outcomes.

PLO 5: Responsible business practice

Students will develop and be committed to responsible business thinking and approaches, which are underpinned by ethical professional practice and sustainability considerations.

PLO 6: Global and cultural competence

Students will be aware of business systems in the wider world and actively committed to recognise and respect the cultural norms, beliefs and values of others, and will apply this knowledge to interact, communicate and work effectively in diverse environments.

PLO 7: Leadership development

Students will develop the capacity to take initiative, encourage forward thinking and bring about innovation, while effectively influencing others to achieve desired results.

These PLOs relate to undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs. Separate PLOs for honours and postgraduate research programs are included under 'Related Documents'.

Business School
course outlines provide detailed information for students on how the course learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessment/s contribute to the development of Program Learning Outcomes.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

UNSW Graduate Capabilities

The Business School PLOs also incorporate
UNSW graduate capabilities, a set of generic abilities and skills that all students are expected to achieve by graduation. These capabilities articulate the University’s institutional values, as well as future employer expectations.

UNSW Graduate Capabilities

Business School PLOs

Scholars capable of independent and collaborative enquiry, rigorous in their analysis, critique and reflection, and able to innovate by applying their knowledge and skills to the solution of novel as well as routine problems.

PLO 1: Business knowledge

PLO 2: Problem solving

PLO 3: Business communication

PLO 4: Teamwork

PLO 7: Leadership development

Entrepreneurial leaders capable of initiating and embracing innovation and change, as well as engaging and enabling others to contribute to change

Global citizens who are culturally adept and capable of respecting diversity and acting in a socially just and responsible way.

PLO 1: Business knowledge

PLO 2: Problem solving

PLO 3: Business communication

PLO 4: Teamwork

PLO 5: Responsible business practice

PLO 6: Global and cultural competence

While our programs are designed to provide coverage of all PLOs and graduate capabilities, they also provide you with a great deal of choice and flexibility. The Business School strongly advises you to choose a range of courses that assist your development against the seven PLOs and four graduate capabilities, and to keep a record of your achievements as part of your portfolio. You can use a portfolio as evidence in employment applications as well as a reference for work or further study. For support with selecting your courses contact the UNSW Business School
Student Centre.

Academic Integrity is honest and responsible scholarship. This form of ethical scholarship is highly valued at UNSW. Terms like Academic Integrity, misconduct, referencing, conventions, plagiarism, academic practices, citations and evidence based learning are all considered basic concepts that successful university students understand. Learning how to communicate original ideas, refer sources, work independently, and report results accurately and honestly are skills that you will be able to carry beyond your studies.

The definition of academic misconduct is broad. It covers practices such as cheating, copying and using another person’s work without appropriate acknowledgement. Incidents of academic misconduct may have serious consequences for students.

Plagiarism

UNSW regards plagiarism as a form of academic misconduct. UNSW has very strict rules regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism at UNSW is using the words or ideas of others and passing them off as your own. All Schools in the Business School have a Student Ethics Officer who will investigate incidents of plagiarism and may result in a student’s name being placed on the Plagiarism and Student Misconduct Registers.

Below are examples of plagiarism including self-plagiarism:

Copying: Using the same or very similar words to the original text or idea without acknowledging the source or using quotation marks. This includes copying materials, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document, presentation, composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, website, internet, other electronic resource, or another person's assignment, without appropriate acknowledgement of authorship.

Inappropriate Paraphrasing: Changing a few words and phrases while mostly retaining the original structure and/or progression of ideas of the original, and information without acknowledgement. This also applies in presentations where someone paraphrases another’s ideas or words without credit and to piecing together quotes and paraphrases into a new whole, without appropriate referencing.

Collusion: Presenting work as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people. Collusion includes:

Students providing their work to another student before the due date, or for the purpose of them plagiarising at any time

Paying another person to perform an academic task and passing it off as your own

Stealing or acquiring another person’s academic work and copying it

Offering to complete another person’s work or seeking payment for completing academic work

Collusion should not be confused with academic collaboration (i.e., shared contribution towards a group task).

Inappropriate Citation: Citing sources which have not been read, without acknowledging the 'secondary' source from which knowledge of them has been obtained.

Self-Plagiarism: ‘Self-plagiarism’ occurs where an author republishes their own previously written work and presents it as new findings without referencing the earlier work, either in its entirety or partially. Self-plagiarism is also referred to as 'recycling', 'duplication', or 'multiple submissions of research findings' without disclosure. In the student context, self-plagiarism includes re-using parts of, or all of, a body of work that has already been submitted for assessment without proper citation.

Cheating

The University also regards cheating as a form of academic misconduct. Cheating is knowingly submitting the work of others as their own and includes contract cheating (work produced by an external agent or third party that is submitted under the pretences of being a student’s original piece of work). Cheating is not acceptable at UNSW.

If you need to revise or clarify any terms associated with academic integrity you should explore the 'Working with Academic Integrity' self-paced lessons available at: https://student.unsw.edu.au/aim.

For information on how to acknowledge your sources and reference correctly, see: https://student.unsw.edu.au/referencing. If you are unsure what referencing style to use in this course, you should ask the lecturer in charge.

Students are expected to be familiar with and adhere to university policies in relation to class attendance and general conduct and behaviour, including maintaining a safe, respectful environment; and to understand their obligations in relation to workload, assessment and keeping informed.

Workload

It is expected that you will spend at least ten to twelve hours per week studying for a course except for Summer Term courses which have a minimum weekly workload of twenty to twenty four hours. This time should be made up of reading, research, working on exercises and problems, online activities and attending classes. In periods where you need to complete assignments or prepare for examinations, the workload may be greater. Over-commitment has been a cause of failure for many students. You should take the required workload into account when planning how to balance study with employment and other activities.

We strongly encourage you to connect with your Moodle course websites in the first week of semester. Local and international research indicates that students who engage early and often with their course website are more likely to pass their course.

Attendance

Your regular and punctual attendance at lectures and seminars or in online learning activities is expected in this course. The Business School reserves the right to refuse final assessment to those students who attend less than 80% of scheduled classes where attendance and participation is required as part of the learning process (e.g., tutorials, flipped classroom sessions, seminars, labs, etc.).

General Conduct and Behaviour

You are expected to conduct yourself with consideration and respect for the needs of your fellow students and teaching staff. Conduct which unduly disrupts or interferes with a class, such as ringing or talking on mobile phones, is not acceptable and students may be asked to leave the class.

Health and Safety

Keeping Informed

You should take note of all announcements made in lectures, tutorials or on the course web site. From time to time, the University will send important announcements to your university e-mail address without providing you with a paper copy. You will be deemed to have received this information. It is also your responsibility to keep the University informed of all changes to your contact details.

Business School Student CentreThe Business School Student Centre provides advice and direction on all aspects of admission, enrolment and graduation.Level 1, Room 1028 in the Quadrangle Building02 9385 3189

Educational Support ServiceEducational Support Advisors work with all students to promote the development of skills needed to succeed at university, whilst also providing personal support throughout the process. Check their website to request an appointment or to register in the Academic Success Program.John Goodsell Building, Ground Floor.advisors@unsw.edu.au02 9385 4734

UNSW ITUNSW IT provides support and services for students such as password access, email services, wireless services and technical support.UNSW Library Annexe (Ground floor).itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au02 9385 1333

Disability Support ServicesUNSW Disability Support Services provides assistance to students who are trying to manage the demands of university as well as a health condition, learning disability or who have personal circumstances that are having an impact on their studies. Disability Advisers can arrange to put in place services and educational adjustments to make things more manageable so that students are able to complete their course requirements. To receive educational adjustments for disability support, students must first register with Disability Services.Ground Floor, John Goodsell Building.disabilities@unsw.edu.au02 9385 4734